All-rounder in service with Lufthansa

Starting in 1958, Lufthansa’s L-1049G Super Constellations were joined on the North Atlantic routes by four L1649A Super Stars.

The comfort and luxury above the clouds that was introduced in November of that year in the new Senator First Class on the Super Star has barely been equaled since. With 20 "de luxe" reclining seats and 12 "First Class" seats, four of which could be converted to beds, the maximum number of passengers was confined to 32. This exclusive circle would meet during the flight for small talk above the clouds in the comfortable on-board lounge.

The fact that the Lufthansa flagship Lockheed L1649A was primarily deployed on cross-Atlantic routes illustrates the strong economic and political leanings of post-war West Germany towards the USA. Yet as much as Lufthansa’s passengers loved to fly with the Super Star, even this on-board luxury could not hold up the advent of the jet age. And so, starting as early as 1960, Lufthansa’s Boeing 707 Intercontinental jets displaced the much slower Super Stars on the most prestigious routes across the Atlantic.

Seeking a new role for its reliable L1649A fleet, Lufthansa in 1960 instructed Lockheed to convert two of the Super Stars to cargo aircraft. As Lufthansa’s first long-range cargo aircraft, they continued to fly between Germany and the USA. In those years of the "economic miracle", their cargo capacity helped to lay the foundation for Germany’s present-day role as a leading export nation.

One of the two cargo planes, the "Super Star" with the former tail sign D-ALAN, was now acquired by the Deutsche Lufthansa Berlin-Stiftung (DLBS) together with the two aircraft formerly operated by TWA. Although this particular airplane is not suitable for restoration to an airworthy condition, many of its well preserved parts and components will be installed in the Foundation’s flying Lockheed L1649A and will thus participate in the new Super Star era that is about to dawn.